Hunting Personal Power

In the Toltec tradition, spiritual warriors are said to hunt personal power. It is not something that can be achieved by following a step-by-step set of instructions, rather it is something that is increased and even freed, through our actions, thoughts and demeanor. Now maybe you have never considered yourself a warrior, but we all can walk the warrior’s path and hunt personal power. A warrior is simply someone who seeks freedom, takes radical responsibility for their actions and is a master of their intent. There is much to be gained by increasing and freeing our power even for the most novice of warrior. Understanding that the path of the warrior is not a place you reach, rather a process of continued self-mastery.

We are all born with some personal power; it is our birthright. Personal power is a form of energy that is about much more than mere self-confidence or a measure of our sphere of influence. Personal power is forged within, acquired through broaden awareness and perception. It is not concerned with value judgments of ourselves in the context of the larger cultural mores or another’s experience of truth. Our personal power is dependent on our own level of impeccability i.e. it is to act consciously and use our energy in an efficient and effective manner. As don Juan Matus, a spiritual guide, said, "Impeccability is nothing else but the proper use of energy.”

The way of the warrior is to follow the path with heart. There are many paths and they all eventually lead to the same place, death. The difference is that a warrior knows that the only reason to take a path is for joy, if the path does not bring joy it should be abandoned immediately. As we explore ways to attain and free your personal power, think of it in terms of making energetic investments. Living joyously offers a great investment with huge returns.

One of the best ways to free up personal power is to give something up. Habits bind our power rather than drain it. Though this may seem counter intuitive because habits are usually performed without conscious thought, anyone who has released a habit knows how much energy is involved in maintaining the status quo. However, it is not just about giving something up, but doing so with impeccability.

For example if you were to give up your morning coffee and then spend the day lamenting about it, that would be an incredible drain on your power. This is because indulgence is a way to lose power. We can think of indulgence in terms of decedent foods or alcohol, but we can also indulge in our emotions. Every time we indulge in our feelings of negativity, lack, self-pity or involve ourselves in such things as gossip, it has a draining effect. A warrior lives without regret; she is a master of her thoughts and intent. It is not that she is always perfect, but she has such a keen awareness that she can tell when she is living outside of impeccability and then, chooses a different path.

Another way we attain personal power is to follow through. Every time we commit to others or ourselves and then don’t follow through, we lose our power. Conversely, when we say we are going to do something and do it, we gain personal power. How many things in your life would you categorize as an incomplete? Make a list of your incompletes and really look at them. Some of them might no longer serve you or represent you. In that case, the impeccable choice would be to let them go. Warriors are fluid; they are able to make choices in the moment. Sometimes we make commitments to others or ourselves, but they don’t represent whom we really are. A warrior would recognize this and again take a different path. As we take care of other incompletes in our lives, we build personal power.

Remaining detached is another key attribute of the warrior’s path. A warrior does not look at life as a success or a failure; all choices are done from the perspective of impeccability and not outcome. The fluid nature of the warrior, allows her to take quick action and drop something if it is no longer aligned with her intent. When a person is attached, it creates a web, moving from one thing to another attaching our thoughts and therefor energy, investing our personal power and draining it. A warrior can take leaps without needing explanation or always having things fit into her worldview. For example, when a child plays with a toy and enjoys it, she can move onto another toy when it no longer brings her joy. There is no need to mourn the loss, or figure out why the other toy no longer brings her joy, she just leaves it and moves on. There is no baggage to carry and no further investment required.

So when we attain and free our personal power, what can we do with it? This is where things get magical. Because personal power is the effective use of energy, we become experts on directing our energy to manifest on the material plane. Personal power allows us to transcend, transmute and transform ourselves and the energy around us. Allowing us to change in leaps rather than linear increments. A warrior can use this energy to pierce the veil between the know and unknown worlds. Through this she is fully aware of the madness of the modern world and chooses how she wishes to show up, touching the world only lightly and when necessary.

Through this process we are able to transcend ordinary human awareness into a place of unlimited perception. As more of the unknowns become known and we understand there are many separate realities, we can manifest our full potential. Take notice now and watch how you show up in the world. Are there ways you can attain or free your personal power? What do you want to do with it? As don Juan Matus said, “We choose to be warriors, or to be ordinary men. A second choice does not exist.”